A hawk has decided that our bird feeder is the perfect place to find his afternoon snacks.
It's ticking me off. I haven't made a count, but I know that we have fewer birds at the feeder this year than usual. We have an overabundance of cheery little sparrows, but fewer chickadees, juncos, cardinals, blue jays, and mourning doves.
It's very possible that there are more feeding stations now that we have more neighbors. And it's also possible that because of the drought, the birds have shifted to areas where more food is naturally available. But the darned hawk isn't helping matters.
There wasn't a bird in sight the other day, so I watched the trees for a moment, and found Mr. Hawk quietly blending in with the branches. I opened the window and shouted at him. I tried to shoo him off, and he ignored me.
Nothing irritates me more than ignorance. (Sorry.....that's one of Elegante Mother's puns that seemed to fit here. *G*)
And, one other thing to consider, it's possible that we are feeding more of the ground based wildlife. It's been warm enough for the raccoons to be out and about, and those little buggers know how to strip the feeders of seed. The birds kick a lot of seed to the ground while they feed, and the squirrels and deer are sure to be helping.
We need to eavesdrop on the gathering at night to see just who is enjoying the feed.
Comments (9)
There was an article in the newspaper the other day about the decline in the numbers of crows, bluejays, and I-forget-what-other birds in our area due to West Nile virus. I shouldn't weep if it wiped out the populations of house sparrows, European starlings, and rock pigeons; but, I hate that it's hitting our native populations.
Posted by Cop Car | January 14, 2006 7:29 PM
Posted on January 14, 2006 19:29
Yes, I had heard that. One of the quilters who visits said she was surprised that we still had blue jays. We've only had four at the most, and we had at least three through the fall, so we may have been lucky.
The number of little sparrows is unusually high this year. I don't know if we're seeing more of them, or if they have less competition at the feeder, so it just SEEMS like more, but EM misses all the other birds. I think we have a lower population of the house finches this year.
Starlings, and Eastern starlings seem to be the birds we would most like to have move on. We're lucky that they are not with us all year 'round.
Posted by buffy | January 15, 2006 8:14 PM
Posted on January 15, 2006 20:14
I failed to mention that, according to the article, the decline started in 2002. I'm assuming that your little sparrows are house sparrows which have proliferated even more than usual (since they are competing with fewer native birds?) I'm struggling to understand "Starlings, and Eastern starlings...." I saw a Hill's Myna in our back yard for a few days a few years ago (obviously an escaped pet) that is an asian starling. Other than escaped pets, the only starlings that I know of in the US are European starlings. Was that a typo, a joke, or are there immigrants that haven't crept this far west?
Posted by Cop Car | January 16, 2006 7:17 AM
Posted on January 16, 2006 07:17
Our blue jay population dropped off a couple of years ago - presumably because of West Nile virus. This year however, we have plenty (although no crows). I personally have over 20 BJ's this winter.
I lose more birds to them flying into windows (even the screened windows and when curtains are closed), than I don to hawks. I place my feeders close to natural cover. I figure if a bird isn't fast enough to get the 3-5 feet to the trees, the hawk deserves its meal!
If I'm going to feed them (and perhaps keep some of them from dying from starvation), then I can't complain if something higher on the food chain benefits occasionally.
Posted by bogie | January 16, 2006 7:59 AM
Posted on January 16, 2006 07:59
Cop Car, that was the child's garden of misinformation. That's what my parents called these birds. Thanks to you, I have a NEW bird book (the Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America), and I'll make use of it and let you know just what those birds are.
I didn't realize that the bird populations began to suffer from West Nile virus as long ago as 2002. We just noticed a change this past year.
Bogie, our situation is similar to yours. Unfortunately we had eight trees cut down this past summer, but there's still a lot of shrubbery next to the feeder. I was astonished to see a hawk go into the shrubs. Stupid bird. The little birds had all the advantage. When they know a hawk is hunting nearby, it looks like a ghost town here.
We loose birds to the windows, too. I'm sure that the hawk is using the reflection when he hunts. I think he forces the smaller birds into the windows and catches them when they are dazed.
I understand the food chain. I just wish that the hawk wasn't setting his sites on MY little birds! *S*
Posted by buffy | January 16, 2006 10:11 AM
Posted on January 16, 2006 10:11
Good point, Bogie. We also lose birds to our windows. I was reading an article the other day about some university where they are trying to develop windows that birds can see. The problem is that birds just don't see the glass, so small particles are being added to the glass. One on-campus building was built with the new glass and they are having great success with it. Evidently, it did not make an objectionable difference in the people's viewing; but, the wholesale bird slaughter was stopped.
Posted by Cop Car | January 16, 2006 1:07 PM
Posted on January 16, 2006 13:07
I'm really glad to hear about the new glass. We could install it just on the northwest side of the house across from the feeder, and make a huge difference!
Posted by buffy | January 16, 2006 2:05 PM
Posted on January 16, 2006 14:05
For the night viewing, you do realize Buffy, that means that you will actually have to stay awake *huge smile*
Posted by Jamie | January 17, 2006 11:48 PM
Posted on January 17, 2006 23:48
Ooops....that could be a problem, huh? *G* Maybe I'll have to assign night duty to Step-son #2. He's the night owl in the house.
Posted by buffy | January 18, 2006 5:51 PM
Posted on January 18, 2006 17:51